SLA Teams

Secondary Leadership Academy

Secondary Leadership Academy Fall Training

Executive-development programs are held at MSU over two consecutive summers and include a team of five to seven people per district. Instruction is delivered by MSU faculty and professional staff in the Colleges of Business and Education and other experts from across the country. Content focuses on actions necessary for building transformative leadership and relates to knowledge and skills, systems and processes, best practices (from business and education) and real-time supportare discussed. Training topics include:

  • State Board Exams
  • Individual Career & Academic Plans 
  • Career Academies
  • Common Core Standards
  • Data Analysis
  • Hiring the Right People

Mid-Year Leadership Retreats (Spring)

This program includes the principal and a school leadership team and allows the turnaround principal to fully engage school leadership team members critical to the turnaround. The retreat focuses on implementation of management systems for building a data culture and a high-performance team.

On-Site Visits

MSU will provide several site visits throughout the year. The timing and nature of the visits are determined by the circumstances and leadership needs of the participating district or school. Additional days may be negotiated as necessary and mutually agreed upon by MSU and the participating school district. These visits are to provide ongoing, sustained professional development, data analysis and collaboration between schools and MSU, as well as coaching and mentoring for the administrator.

Webinars

Webinars with all participants will be hosted by the project leadership team twice each fall and spring. The purpose of these webinars is to provide ongoing, sustained professional development and collaboration between schools and MSU, as well as coaching and mentoring for the administrator in an online environment.

Program Completion

The SLA will conclude with a day of celebration, encouragement and further tools to help ensure success that leads to increased student achievement.

The Mississippi State University Secondary Leadership Academy is an innovative approach helping high schools in Mississippi become successful by implementing multiple pathways and exit options. The program is modeled after the successful Darden-Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education at the University of Virginia, which draws upon proven strategies f rom the business world and applies them to education. Following the UVA program, the Colleges of Business and Education at MSU have collaborated to bring this program to Mississippi.

This project is funded in part by a grant f rom the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Mississippi Department of Education.

The SLA is a two-year program that begins in June each year. On-campus training sessions are included in addition to on-site and online technical assistance between sessions.

Contact

Jean Massey
Associate State Superintendent
Mississippi Department of Education
601.359.3090
jmassey@mde.k12.ms.us

Julie Jordan
Project Director for ARC-HPLI Grant
Director
Research and Curriculum Unit
Mississippi State University
662.325.2510
julie.jordan@rcu.msstate.edu

Cathy Davis, Ed.D.

Project Manager for ARC-HPLI Grant
Research and Curriculum Unit
Mississippi State University
662.325.3764
662.889.6363 (cell)
cathy.davis@rcu.msstate.edu

Lynn Eiland
Project Manager for ARC-HPLI Grant
Research and Curriculum Unit
Mississippi State University
662.325.6316
lynn.eiland@rcu.msstate.edu